Foresight splashes the cash on UK’s largest solar park

Foresight Solar Fund has acquired the 72MWp Shotwick Solar Park, which remains the UK’s largest by generation capacity.

The site – which has a 50MW AC export cap – was jointly developed by WElink, British Solar Renewables, Compton Group and China Triumph International and was fully accredited in September last year.

Foresight has also taken over the project’s PPA which sees generated electricity sold to the adjacent UPM Shotton Paper Mill. The deal, signed at the time of the project’s completion last year, allows the paper mill to source as much as 100% of its electricity demand from the solar park during peak generation times.

Foresight said the PPA laid a “new gold standard” for solar energy suppliers collaborating with energy intensive industries and Ricardo Pineiro, partner and head of UK solar at Foresight, said the project “sets an exciting new precedent” for cost-effective private wire arrangements.

BSR is to remain attached to the site as an O&M sub-contractor to China Triumph and the firm’s managing director Graham Harding said it was “delighted” to have brought the project to fruition.

“We see this project as a showcase for how large scale solar can work alongside major power users such as UPM and we look forward to developing other such solar parks in the post subsidy era,” he added.

The deal takes Foresight’s UK solar portfolio to 17 assets with a combined peak capacity of 420MW, however the firm expects to announce further deals over the coming year with a strong acquisition pipeline currently under negotiation.

Osborne Clark advised Foresight on the transaction, with consultancy group EY working alongside Pinsent Masons with the sellers on the transfer of the private wire arrangement.